MAYBE WE SHOULD START WITH OUR HEARTS AND MINDS

56 percent support President Bush's Iraq policy.

Hmm, that doesn't seem like news, guess it must be residuals from Saddam's capture.

But just in case, let's ask, 56 percent of what?

Of the military.

After a year of constant combat casualties and grinding overseas tours, a majority of men and women in uniform back President Bush and his policies in Iraq, according to a Military Times poll.

Fifty-six percent of those responding to a random Military Times mail poll of 993 active-duty military members who subscribe to the Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times and Marine Corps Times approve of Bush's handling of Iraq. The poll, conducted in the past month, carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

"Fifty-six percent is not very high in terms of support," said Andrew Bacevich, a political scientist at Boston University and a retired Army officer. "There is plenty of reason to be skeptical of the handling of Iraq on the part of the people who are paying the price."

And here comes some spin:

But author and retired officer Ralph Peters called the numbers "a pleasant surprise."

"These are tough conditions," Peters said. "It speaks well of the men and women in uniform that they're maintaining such high morale."

Hmm. When nearly half of our forces cannot support the commander-in-chief's war policy, "high morale" isn't the first thing to cross my mind. (link via Tresy)